Frankie Dettori © Photo Healy Racing
A bumper crowd is expected at Listowel next month following news that legendary jockey Frankie Dettori will ride at the harvest festival on Tuesday, September 20.
A household name, the three-time Champion Jockey has won 17 UK Classics including two Derbys with his 10 Irish Classics including the 1994 Irish Derby on Balanchine and, in recent times, has appeared at country tracks Killarney and Bellewstown.
Many will recall attending Listowel on September 28 1996 the day Dettori won all seven races at Ascot, and racecourse chairman Pat Healy reports “I have been tormenting Frankie for the last number of years that his 'jigsaw of racecourses' wouldn't be complete until he rides at the famous harvest festival in Listowel.
“After catching up with him at York last week, he was happy to accept the invite and we are over the moon. The town's people and local community will be over the moon to have such an iconic figure riding at Listowel and he will now have ridden at all three of the Kerry tracks.”
The well known racing photographer added “there has been racing in Listowel every September for 164 years and on the Tuesday this year, we have an all flat card on which Frankie will ride.
“Frankie's arrival will also complement our first ever student raceday and between the students and Frankie, it'll be a perfect fit for a huge atmosphere and a fantastic crowd.”
Italian-born and famed for his flying dismounts, Dettori has ridden at six Irish racecourses and successfully at four - the Curragh, Leopardstown, Tralee and, last September, won a race run in the memory of Barney Curley at Bellewstown.
The 51 year old has twice ridden in County Kerry, being besieged by autograph hunters during a successful visit to now defunct Tralee in 1998, and was out of luck riding two seconds from four rides at Killarney in July 2019.
